London sidewalks

I didn't find sidewalks to be much of a problem. And we were hauling our suitcases up and down Euston road, which is always crowded. And saw plenty of others doing the same (since we were close to St Pancras). We also took the tube from Heathrow during rush hour on a weekday. It was, um, snug, but our suitcases weren't a real problem. Nor were we the only ones with them. And I'm a senior with mobility issues.

I typically stay very close to Green Park Station and it's a breeze coming out of either side of the station and navigating the area with both my checked and carry-on spinner bags - usually by myself but my mom comes along and also has an easy time of it. The only bumpy bits are intentional at street crossings. I landed at Green Park last January during the New Year's Day Parade and there were crowds but most people were understanding of people needing to move through so it wasn't much of an issue.

I fly into Heathrow and because it is the end of the line, so to speak, I've never had an issue with crowding on the tube.

There are certainly more experienced people who will chime in but I hope this is a little bit reassuring.

I do not find the sidewalks problematic, but then I lived in Italy where they can be problematic or non-existent. However, we always take a taxi from the train station to our lodgings on arrival in London, Paris, Rome, or other big city.

Pavenments not sidewalks in London to avoid confusion!

Or pavements to avoid confusion ; )

Thank you JC! Shouldn't walk and type! !!

That is why the edit button is provided.

From your other question it sounds like you are either at the Holiday Inn Mayfair on the corner of Piccadilly or at the Ritz across the road. Either way they are only a few feet from the Green Park tube station and very easy with wide pavements to either.

If you aren't there, perhaps if you share where you will be a more accurate answer will be forthcoming.....

The English and Americans are two peoples divided by a common language

Yet another example proving the statement

As you roll your bag on the streets of London you will notice something you didn't expect--you won't be the only one. Big bags, little bags, two wheels, four wheels, you will see it all. And you shouldn't have a problem. Not with the pavement.

The tube won't be a problem coming from Heathrow on a Sunday morning.

It's not the pavements, it's the stairs in the tube stations.

Avoiding Stairs Tube Guide

The Green Park station has lifts.

It does, but as a retrofit for the 2012 Olympics they are somewhat limited.

One more pavements comment: Take seriously the arrows painted on the pavement surface at intersections. Look that way to save your life. Your North American instincts are wrong and the traffic will be coming from where the arrows point, often at calamitous speed.

Thanks everyone for your reassurances. Very helpful! The stairs tube guide is handy! It's hard to know what a place is like until I get there and so I end up fretting about many things that sometimes, in the end, don't matter at all. Ah, the thrill of exploration.

I will try to remember that it's pavement rather than sidewalk and looking in the opposite direction of what I'm used to when crossing the road. After a week, hopefully I'll be proficient!

After a week, hopefully I'll be proficient!

Hopefully sooner than that, or you may be more well acquainted with UK medical care than you you ever imagined or desired!

Can't read this thread without Adele's "Chasing Pavements" playing in my head.

Most modern elevator installations on the London Underground are "somewhat limited" - they're intended for disabled people and those with strollers or heavy luggage, so they're a bit hidden away to make it less likely other people will overload them - which unfortunately means more walking.

The legal term for a sidewalk in England is actually footway, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/329/enacted

Perhaps they are trying to align the word pavement (I think in the UK, "paving"?) with the same usage as most of the English speaking world.

The legal term for a sidewalk in England is actually footway, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1980/66/section/329/enacted Perhaps they are trying to align the word pavement (I think in the UK, "paving"?) with the same usage as most of the English speaking world.

No-one here calls it a footway, it's always referred to as a pavement and no amount of government terminology will change that.

Nope. Ask 100 people around here what they walk on next the road and zero will say footway.

Wait until you start dealing with roads which are metalled and unmetalled.

A footway doesn't have to be paved. It could be a dirt track or loose gravel.

London sidewalks are no different than walking with your pullman bag in NYC, Boston, or DC. A taxi will cost you a fortune. Weekend mornings are fine in the tube. Depending on the tube station, there could be a lot of steps. Keep that in mind. Frank II provided you a link to the step-free tube guide. Use that to see if steps will even be an issue.

If you decide you want to avoid the tube, avoid the black taxis too. Take Simply Airports. Excellent service, much cheaper pricing especially due to the fact that a meter won't be running.

When you get to Mayfair, listen for the werewolves.

Werewolves of London? With perfect hair, surely. RIP, Warren Zevon.

As someone that just posted the location of the former Lee Ho Fook's restaurant on Gerrard Street in a discussion here (nearest tube: Leicester Square), I'm getting a kick out of these answers!

I was looking through some youtube clips of London and in one of them, it was explained how pavements came about. I can't remember the whole story but it was something about a nobleman wanting to impress his royal neighbors and his carriage got stuck in a narrow street on his way to visit them. He had to be extricated out the top which was really embarrassing. I believe he came up with the idea of having pavements to prevent this from recurring. Maybe this sounds familiar to someone?

We only travel with carryons, but I find London very easy to get around with small luggage, sidewalks no problem, Tube as well- the public transportation fantastic/ you will have to go up some steep flights of steps at times to get to street level but its manageable.

Happy Travels✨💫